[eluser]Randy Casburn[/eluser]
[quote author="chuckleberry13" date="1217119508"]So you mentioned the data model should be the source for the form elements. [/quote]
Darn it! -- there I go again. "Data model" was used in the context of a Requirements Engineering or Requirements Process terminology perspective. This is in contrast to implementing an MVC Model that actually moves HTTP REQUEST data from a POST array into a suitable format for storage. I did not mean to mislead you with that.
So a Requirements Data Model represents all the data needed by the User (actor) in the system that might show up in the UI. That doesn't mean all the data in the application, but certainly all the data in all the forms should be represented there. So your goal of consolidating forms/form elements/form validations etc. should really start with an understanding of all the data that is needed by the User in the UI interfaces. Hope this clarifies.
[quote author="chuckleberry13" date="1217119508"]p.s. sidenote I just discovered ExtJS and saw in some other posts that you are familiar with it. This is off topic for this thread, but I would love to get some pointers from you on how to best work with ExtJS and CI. I currently use JQuery a lot, but nothing more than just including JS files in the header views and using an Ajax controller that handles some of the Ajax requests. I have an eerie feeling there is a better way
.[/quote]
Wrong thread. PM me and I'll discuss my heretic way with ExtJS that will also make sense to you. Simple, full architectural view without doing things that don't make sense on the server when only the client is needed.
Randy
